If you love bench pressing but feel that you need a break from constant heavy lifting you’ll love the video below. You may or may not know that I was previously diagnosed with a slight rotator cuff tear. It feels better now, but before I get back into really heavy benching again I wanted to try a different challenge.

I want to see how many times I can bench press my body weight! Right now I’m tipping the scale at 225 lbs which means my bodyweight bench press test would be the 225 lbs Rep Test. That’s the same test they use at the NFL combines to test the upper body strength of the future draft picks.

If this sounds like a fun challenge, you’ll want to check out the video below to find out what your weaknesses are when bench pressing your body weight for as many reps as possible.

How ironic is this? One of the best bench press coaches I’ve ever met lives near me here in Tampa Bay, FL. His name is Chandler Marchman, CSCS and he’s the owner of Elite Strength & Conditioning Training Center. It only made sense for us to team up and share the goods with you. Enjoy!

Weakness #1: Improper Form

When we teach the bench press,we always have to drive home the point that you MUST be the model of efficiency in order to perform to the apex of your natural abilities.

We can’t tell you how many times that with only 5-10 minutes of coaching we have helped add 20-35 lbs to a client’s bench press simply by correcting form.

How? It’s simple really, if you aren’t engaging the right muscles for the bench press, you will not be able to apply the maximum force. Inefficient movements will result in a less than stellar performance and that’s NOT only for a 1 Rep Max! Over the course of an entire set, you could be losing 3-5 reps just from not knowing proper form or test taking protocol…

Weakness #2: Your Max Strength Is Too Weak

Whether you admit it or not, the ability to bench press your bodyweight a number of times IS indicative on how strong you are. If you haven’t made maximal strength a priority, then you’re missing out on valuable reps.

Why? Think energy conservation and efficiency again. Say there are two guys, both weight 200 lbs. One can bench press 315 lbs, whereas the other one can only press 225 lbs.

Logically, who do you think is gonna have an easier time pressing 200 lbs for reps? If you haven’t prioritized maximal strength in the bench press, then you’re missing the boat!

Weakness #3: Lack of Muscular Endurance

On the flip side, if you lack muscular endurance, especially in the muscles activated in the bench press (chest, shoulders, triceps, and upper back), then you will peter out – regardless of how strong you are! Simply put, you must match maximal strength with muscular endurance if you wish to crush this test.

Weakness #4: Improper Weak Point Training

We mentioned before, in order to be effective in the 225 lbs rep test or any bench press rep challenge we must patch up any “leaks”or structural integrity issues.

That means we must identify key deficiencies and address them with the RIGHT exercises. If you aren’t addressing your weaknesses with the proper weak point training exercises, don’t expect to see any marked improvement when you test yourself!

Weakness #5: Poor Test Taking Technique

We know what you’re thinking. How could anyone “screw the pooch” on this one? You just grab the bar and bench it as many times as you can…until you can’t! Right?

If you think that’s all there is to it, you couldn’t be further from the truth OR further from increasing your reps.